3D scanners have become increasingly common in reverse engineering applications but using these devices to create highly accurate 3D models of underwater structures hasn’t been technologically feasible, at least not from any device commercially available.

Enter 2G Robotics, a Waterloo, Ont.-based start-up that recently developed the world’s first underwater laser scanner, the ULS-100. While similar in function to the more common terrestrial devices, the ULS-100 is designed to be used independently or attached to an Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) or Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). As such, it overcomes two design problems that have prevented such a device coming to market previously.